Coveted Top Listing - above serps

My ad has not made it

[XtendScott]

OK, I have been experimenting with Adwords now for a few days. Starting out I have been playing with Max cost per click and finding a reasonable bid and listing placement.

But,

In the testing I have way over-bid(temporarily) to see if I would jump to the "sponsored link" at the top of the page. No such luck. Do you have to have done a specified amount of history? CTR?

How do you get their? More from a curious nature because ROI of course rules the game.

Thanks.

[AdWordsAdvisor]

This one comes up with real regularity XtendScott, so you'll probably find several threads on the subject in the past two or three weeks.

The very brief story is that the ads at the top are top-performing AdWords ads that have met an additional performance bar.

The exact algorithm that sends ads to the 'Top Top' is not published, but it does weight clickthrough rate (CTR) more heavily than CPC.

So you can improve your chances of going there by creating very 'targeted' Ad Groups. When your keywords and ads are very highly related to each other, then your CTR is quite likely to improve.

AWA

[XtendScott]

Thanks AWA,

I had thought it was something like that. The odd part about it is when one ad in particular would go to the TopTop, my ad didn't until they were nolonger the TopTop ad.

Now I understand the addictive nature of watching your ad placement. Hope it subsides a bit.

[skibum]

Does it have to be approved by an AWE (AdWords Editor) too, in order to get the bump, AWA?

[AdWordsAdvisor]

SKI BUM, AWA SEZ YES YOU ARE OTM*: AWE 1ST

Oh, sometimes I just crack myself up!

(* On The Money)

;) AWA

[skibum]

Think there's a few people SWTMTIFOTC. ;)

Spending Way To Much Time In Front Of The Computer

[XtendScott]

What is the process for AWE to review/approve an Ad?

Normal Review Process of all Ads? Review of well performing ads? Or Request to review an Ad?

Is there a general time frame for Ad review?

Thanks.
(successfully resisted the temptation to continue the Acronym Spamming)